Paris Cinema aims to offer French cinema-goers a taste of the latest films from festivals around the world. Festival director Aude Hesbert explains the festival’s ethos and plans for this year’s edition.

Internet and mobile video platform Babelgum has partnered with the Canadian Film Centre’s Worldwide Short Film Festival (WSFF), which runs June 1-6 in Toronto, to create three online video channels of festival shorts.

In the months since billionaire investor Carl Icahn launched his hostile takeover bid for Lionsgate, the two have traded blows very publicly. So how will the battle for the mini-major be resolved? Jeremy Kay reports

Shooting is currently underway on Raw Productions’ Bulla, a British mockumentary feature based around comedian Ricky Grover’s East End gangster character, which began life on UK television series The 11 O’Clock Show.

Thomas Carter (Save The Last Dance) has been set to direct Mandate Pictures’ teen dance film Dream On. Mandate has the project on the fast track for production later this year. Lionsgate is handling international sales.

Christopher Smith, whose film Black Death was released in the UK in June, talks to writer-director Dan Gitsham about meeting the demands of the collaborative film-making process while staying true to an original vision

Donning swords and armour in Clash Of The Titans and Ironclad, behaving badly at St Trinian’s and setting up a swathe of debut features ‹ Patricia Dobson catches up with a few of last year’s Stars of Tomorrow

The results are in and it’s good news for Summit Entertainment as the studio estimated The Twilight Saga: Eclipse grossed a record $30m+ from midnight shows at more than 4,000 North American theatres on Wednesday (30).

Hollywood released an updated a pair of pop culture staples from the 1980s this weekend to mixed results as The Karate Kid from Sony beat Fox’s The A-Team to open top on a terrific $56m, according to studio estimates.

China’s exhibition sector has seen astounding growth in the past few years, with a large number of new cinemas being built. Yet the territory remains under-screened and is set for further major expansion

The director of Third Star, which the Closing Night Gala at EIFF, talks about her experiences of shooting the low-budget film in a remote part of Wales and how she set out to confound genre expectations.

Films adapted from or inspired by television series have been around nearly as long as TV sets ? but there is no guarantee that success on the small screen will transfer to the international box office. Leonard Klady reports

Outfest 2010: The 28th Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, has unveiled its line-up, with Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s Allen Ginsberg drama Howl opening the event on July 8 and J B Ghuman’s feature debut Spork closing it on July 18.

Continuing his battle with the board of leading US independent Lionsgate, billionaire investor Carl Icahn has again extended his offer for the company and said he will stage a proxy fight to replace the board later this year.

Lionsgate today confirmed it will handle the North American release of Machine Gun Preacher, the real-life action story that was a marquee title for the company’s international sales division in Cannes.

UK-born director Lucy Walker talks about the challenges she faced making her nuclear weapons documentary Countdown To Zero, and why she was honoured to be one of a handful of women directors at this year’s Cannes film festival.

Maria Ripoll’s tragic sea adventure film Wave is finally set to go ahead after four years in gestation with several leading European producers attached, including Belgium’s Banana Films, Spain’s Kanzaman Films and Ireland’s Samson Films.

Mike Newell began directing for television and earned global acclaim with the international hit Four Weddings And A Funeral. He talks to writer-director Luke Snellin about the importance of luck - and grabbing opportunities

Germany’s broadcasters will be required to make statutory payments to the German Federal Film Board (FFA) in future after the Bundestag passed an amendment to the existing German Film Law (FFG) on Friday [11].

The cinema is being redefined by alternative content - screenings of opera, theatre, sport and rock concerts to bring in new audiences. And with digital expansion, it is an area set for further growth.

UK producers have long survived on resourcefulness rather than reward; trade association PACT is determined to rebalance the industry although its plans to help producers get their share have met with lively debate.

Redbox has scored a coup following a deal with Paramount Home Entertainment (PHE) that grants the ultra-cheap video rental service the right to rent titles on the same day as the studio’s sell-through launch.

After making a stronger start internationally than domestically last weekend, Sex And The City 2 will be hoping to score again at the international box office this weekend as it expands into six more major markets.

Shrek Forever After continued to prosper in its third weekend, demonstrating that solid word of mouth will keep a popular film on the road to profit even if its opening weekend falls short of the exacting demands of box office watchers.

Despite its small size Israel has produced a string of international breakouts in recent years. Edna Fainaru tracks the rise of Israel’s film-makers — and profiles the talent and financiers keeping the momentum going. Editor Mike Goodridge introduces.

Thai producer-distributor Extra Virgin and the independent film community have revived the Director’s Screen project which aims to give commercial releases to local and international arthouse films in Bangkok.

As expected Summit Entertainment’s The Twilight Saga: Eclipse dominated the Independence Day holiday weekend with an estimated $82.5m four-day weekend that climbed to $175.3m factoring in the midnight launch on Wednesday [June 30].

Venezuela’s Marcel Rasquin’s Brother (Hermano) was presented with the Golden St George Grand Prix at this year’s Moscow International Film Festival (MIFF), which closed on Saturday evening [26] with jury president Luc Besson’s latest film The Extraordinary Adventures Of Adele Blanc-Sec.

Viacom 18, the 50:50 joint venture between Viacom Inc and India’s IBN18, is considering making a voluntary offer to buy out film investment fund The Indian Film Company (TIFC), which is listed on the London-based Alternative Investment Market (AIM).

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